Red IPA (September 2021)

About This Beer

Second captured iteration of Owen’s Red IPA series. Same Gladfield-substituted grain bill as the June 2021 brew, with two deliberate changes flagged in the notebook:

1. Weyermann Special W explicitly added (0.06 kg) — annotated on the recipe sheet as “extra over R-IPA 7/6/21”, marking this as the new ingredient over the previous batch
2. Pacific Jade dry hop introduced (25 g on day 7) alongside the existing Mosaic Cryo dry hop

Yeast also switched — Lalbrew BRY-97 in place of MJ M44 from the June batch.

This is Owen’s first highly-rated Red IPA in the captured collection — the tasting note reads 9.5/10.

Grain Bill

7.09 kg total. Same Gladfield substitutions as the June 2021 batch, with Special W confirmed this time:

• 4.6 kg Gladfield Ale Malt (= Pale Malt in HBW original)
• 1.2 kg Gladfield Aurora Malt (= Melanoidin)
• 0.55 kg Gladfield Light Crystal (= Caramalt)
• 0.44 kg Gladfield Medium Crystal (= Crystal Pale)
• 0.24 kg Gladfield Dark Crystal
• 0.06 kg Weyermann Special W — new this batch

Special W contributes raisin and dark caramel depth even at sub-1 % of grist. The notebook flagging it as the addition over the previous batch is the clearest evidence that the June batch did not actually use it despite appearing on the recipe sheet.

Hop Schedule

Total 150 g — up 25 g from the June batch via the new Pacific Jade dry hop:

• 25 g Pacific Jade at 60 min — bittering
• 15 g Mosaic Cryo at 10 min
• 35 g Mosaic Cryo at flameout
• 50 g Mosaic Cryo dry hop on day 7 from pitch
• 25 g Pacific Jade dry hop on day 7 from pitch — new this batch

The Mosaic Cryo schedule is unchanged from June. Pacific Jade now appears in both bittering and dry hop roles — a step toward the Gen 5 February 2022 brew which moves Pacific Jade into the whirlpool stage as well.

Fermentation

2 packets of Lalbrew BRY-97 pitched at 19 °C — the yeast change vs the June batch’s M44. BRY-97 is a Siebel-isolated US ale strain known for clean, crisp finishes and reliable attenuation, with a slightly fruitier mid-fermentation profile than M44.

Dry hop on day 7 from pitch: 50 g Mosaic Cryo plus 25 g Pacific Jade.

BRY-97 over-attenuated at 19 °C — FG hit 1.013 against a 1.020 target. Similar pattern to the June batch’s M44 result (1.011 vs 1.020), both yeasts outperforming label attenuation at this temperature.

Same 90-minute boil as the June batch (inherited from the Home Brew West process). 3 L water added during the boil.

Packaging

Bottled 22 L — exactly on target.

Numbers

OG fell 5 points short — closer to target than the June batch (8 short). FG over-attenuated by 7 points. ABV came in at 6.8 % — high enough that the notebook records “6.8% → watch out.”

Tasting

• Nice dark red colour
• Good head
• Malty, hoppy, full bodied
• 9.5/10!
• 6.8% — watch out

The 9.5/10 is the highest tasting score in the captured collection. Whether the lift came from the Special W addition, the new Pacific Jade dry hop, the BRY-97 yeast change, or the combination — the Gen 5 February 2022 brew keeps the Special W direction (eventually substituting Gladfield Shepherds Delight) and the Pacific Jade developments while reverting yeast to M44.

Lineage

• Predecessor: Red IPA — June 2021
• Successor: Red IPA Gen 5 — February 2022 — moves Pacific Jade into the whirlpool, substitutes Gladfield Shepherds Delight for Special W, switches yeast back to M44